Cathode sputtering apparatus with a high sputtering rate are generally known where the heat is transferred according to the principle of direct target cooling or by linking the target to a cooled carrier plate.
Further, a cathode sputtering apparatus is known (P 39 37 588.7) where the cooling channels disposed in a carrier plate contain pipes which have thin walls and are passed through by a cooling agent. The cross sectional profiles of these pipes correspond to the cross sectional profiles of the cooling channels so that with their outer walls, the pipes establish a contact with the inner surfaces of the cooling channels and with the outer surfaces of the cathode.
A particular disadvantage of these known apparatus is unfavorable cooling agent-(e.g. water)-vacuum seals or an insufficient contact of cooled carrier plate and target which is due to constructional reasons. When using the device where thin-walled pipes are passed through by a cooling agent, it is disadvantageous that the target is sputtered through, and due to the small thickness of the cooling pipes and/or the wall bounding the cooling channels, the walls of the pipes are also immediately sputtered through. Subsequently, the cooling agent (water) conducted in the cooling pipe will intrude in the vacuum chamber, not described in further detail, which surrounds the interior of the cathode sputtering apparatus. This causes a shutdown of the entire apparatus and requires repair works which always involves significant costs.